Duties might include letter writing, handling mail, schedules, travel, expense reporting, or any other duties. Your assistant might also need technical skills, such as general computer use, typing, software programs, dictation, telephone, or other skills. You might also include general skills like interpersonal communication and multi-tasking. Describe the required hours, including expectations of work beyond normal hours. Include a catch-all phrase, like “duties as assigned” so that your assistant cannot claim that some task wasn’t in the job description. You should also consider what you will pay the assistant. Perform online research to identify salary levels for an administrative assistant with your desired level of experience. [1] X Research source
You can also consider using a recruiter to help you locate strong candidates. [2] X Research source
Look for candidates who exceed expectations, either in their professional experience or during the interview. Judge your own rapport with the candidate. Your assistant should have a personality compatible with your own. Make sure they know how to operate any essential computer programs that your company uses. Watch them enter data into programs to make sure they know how to do it. For example, you can ask them to make a spreadsheet in Excel to see how they do it. Contact their professional references and ask about their experience with the candidate. [3] X Research source
Sit down with your assistant for a few minutes each day to help them sort mail and email. Show them what can be deleted, what can be saved, and where to sort different types of mail.
Always indicate who, what, when, where, and why. Instead of saying, “I need you to take care of these travel expense forms,” say, “Please email accounting by the afternoon so that we can settle these travel expense forms. ” After a while, your assistant may come to understand what you mean with vague directions, but at first, you should try to spell things out as clearly as possible. Some people find it effective to give their assistant daily task schedules or checklists. [5] X Research source If you have time to make a list every day, this might work for you. Clarify when you need to be consulted and when a decision is in the hands of the assistant.
A script may read like “Hello, you have reached Joan Smith’s office. You are speaking to Lisa. How may I help you?” Provide stock responses that they can use, such as “I’m sorry. Ms. Smith is unavailable at the moment. May I please take a message? I’ll have her call you back as soon as possible. ” You probably will not want your assistant to interrupt meetings or work with unimportant phone calls, but there are some people whose calls you will take no matter what. Make sure they have a list of these people. Don’t use assistant to place calls for you unless it is an emergency. Doing so can be very irritating to those who wait on you to answer the phone.
You may choose to send an email out to your company welcoming your new assistant to the fold. You can say, “Lisa will now be handling all of my scheduling. If any of you need to meet with me, please contact her” or “Mark will be handling my email, so please do not be surprised if you receive a message from him. ”
Be clear about your expectations for their role in meetings. Should they be listening, participating, or taking notes?
Ask them to attend seminars Provide training in new computer programs Allow them to take on new tasks, including managing their own projects[9] X Trustworthy Source Harvard Business Review Online and print journal covering topics related to business management practices Go to source Subsidize further education through a Continuing Education Program[10] X Research source
Make sure that you trust your assistant before handing over your email password. Response templates, much like a form letter or memo, can help an administrative assistant handle routine tasks. A response template can be issued for customers’ frequently asked questions, requests for donations or tours, reminders that reports are due, and other business items that may only require your signature.
You can use a shared calendar to help manage your schedule. An electronic calendar can upload your schedule to the cloud and notify both of you if there are any changes made by either party. Be sure to inform them when you are planning to take vacations, travel for business, or go on medical leave so that they can help you organize your time effectively.
Establish procedures for handling physical files, specifically in what types are to be kept, security measures, and storage.
Do not require approval for every single task. [12] X Research source For example, if your assistant is sorting your mail, they should not need your approval to throw junk mail away once they are trained. By doing so, you are taking up as much time as you might be saving. As they become comfortable in their role, you can start giving them larger projects. Allow them to oversee certain programs. Give them an opportunity to manage something. Ask them to present at a meeting. This will increase their competence while allowing them to grow as an employee. Don’t just have your assistant run to get you coffee. Unless this is a two-way street (you can coffee from time to time), don’t ask assistant to get coffee as part of their duties unless they volunteer to do so. Be very careful of gender stereotypes. Remember that your assistant is intended to extend your capabilities, not act as a secretary or a servant. Treat them as a professional.
Remember to maintain a professional distance from your assistant. Your relationship should be friendly but clearly boss-and-employee. If you make them work unusual or long hours, consider promoting assistant to non-exempt status as a reward. However, don’t do so to save money (getting them to work more hours for less pay). Analyze a checklist of your administrative assistant’s responsibilities. Ask whether certain tasks are necessary. See if there are areas of responsibility that can be downsized or if there are additional responsibilities to add.
You may want to use a project management app such as Wunderlist or Trello to help you both decide what needs to get done that day. Your assistant can check off tasks as they complete them. You will be able to add tasks if they come up or mark certain tasks as priority. Cross-platform apps allow you to add a task on your device before automatically sending an update to your assistant.
Positive feedback should focus on the assistant’s ability to complete tasks well. For example, “Good job on submitting those travel expense reports so quickly. You made my life much easier. ” Critical feedback should focus on ways that the assistant can improve. For example, “Next time, I will need you to submit those expense reports within a week of my travel. Don’t worry about it this time, but next time, I do expect you to get them in on time. ” Remember them on special days such as birthdays or Administrative Assistant’s Day.
You can ask, “What is the best way for us to improve productivity? What do you see that can improved upon?” If your assistant gives a good idea, praise them. You can say, “That’s a good idea. What can we do to put that into practice?” If you don’t like their ideas, simply disagree and move on. You can say, “I’m not sure that would work here. ”
Be firm but not disparaging. For example, you can say, “You keep entering data incorrectly into the system. Please pay more attention to your task so that everything is done correctly. ” Ask them, “Why do you think this problem keeps happening? What do you need to improve?” Perhaps you give directions that are too vague, or maybe you are overloading them with work. Your assistant should make you more productive, not less. If you cannot work effectively with your assistant, you may want to start looking for another one.
